Bradley Wright-Phillips celebrates a goal for the Red Bulls in their 2-0 win over D.C. United. (Andrew Theodorakis/for New York Daily News)

Ali Curtis took his punches from Day 1 on the job with the Red Bulls, representing a bespectacled villain of sorts for fans who loved the man he fired, Mike Petke.

There was a town hall meeting in the offseason for these disgruntled season ticket holders, a setting attended by hundreds to unleash their pent up anger, most of it directed at Curtis.

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So in some ways, Sunday's 2-0 home-opening victory was vindication for the analytics-driven sporting director. The 36-year-old soaked in the postgame cheers, took a deep breath and didn't lose perspective.

"It was a hard offseason, for sure," he told the Daily News. "And it feels good right now, but we have to keep pushing, keep going."

It was all about who wasn't around anymore leading up to the Red Bulls home opener – until Bradley Wright-Phillips sent a reminder that the league's scoring record holder is still wearing red and white.

The fans, as a result of their acrimonious view of management and ownership, planned a protest for Sunday's match against D.C. United, which they amended from a march around the concourse to an unremarkable and barely audible 12-minute chant for Petke.

But winning fixes strained relationships. By the final whistle of the breeze over D.C. United – which included a goal and assist from Wright-Phillips – there was nothing but cheers from an announced crowd of 21,036, about 4,000 short of a sellout.

Upset fans voice their frustrations with the Red Bulls. (Andrew Theodorakis/for New York Daily News)

"(Restoring faith from the fans) is going to take a long time because there are some deeper issues there," said goalkeeper Luis Robles, who was the only player to attend the January town hall meeting. "But for us, we wanted to remind everybody that this was still about soccer. And that the guys have worked hard. And there's been a lot written about who is not here. And, of course, there are more than just a couple guys that made this team the last few years. So we wanted to show that there are guys who are still here capable of getting a result."

Out of all the pieces integral to last season's run to the Eastern Conference finals, Wright-Phillips, 30, who tied the MLS record with 27 goals in 2014, benefited the most financially by securing a deal from Curtis to make him the club's lone designated player.

He lived up to it Sunday.

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Wright-Phillips was by far RBNY's most dangerous player Sunday, even without Henry, his favorite setup man from last season.

"We always knew Bradley could score," said coach Jessie Marsch after his team improved to 1-0-1, moving a point behind NYCFC in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.

Asked about the fans chanting for Petke, Marsch said, "Is that what they were doing?"